Molding machine



Ap -i1 23, 1940. A SSAM 2,198,284

MOLDING MACHINE Filed Oct. 29, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 194% A. mssAM HOLDING MACHINE- .Filed Dot, 29, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 .flllen Ifisswm Patented Apr. 23, 1940 MOLDING momma PATENT OFFICE Allen Kissam. Orlando,

Application invention relates to machines for making hollow molded articles, more particularly concrete blocks of the type used in building construction.

A primary object of the'invention is to provide a mold structure which adequately and thoroughly tamps the semi-wet mixture of concrete in a rapid and eflicient .m'armer thereby materially speeding up production while a the same time providing a strong and durabl product. In that connection the distinctive feature of the invention resides in the use of a mold core which is primarily intended to move with short strokes at a relatively high frequency in the direction of the walls of the mold box or the material forming block, thereby quickly and effec tively to tamp the mixture in the mold.

Another object of the invention is to provide novel means for mounting and actuating the mold, core.

With the above and other objects in view which will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed.

A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the apparatus embodying the present improvements. 1

Figure 2 is a side elevation.

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of Figure l.

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view taken on the. line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5" is a detail perspective view of the vibrating core unit.

Figure 6 is a detail view of the eccentric and link means for operating the vibrating core, the same being taken on the line 6-8 of Figure 3.

According to the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings the same includes in its organization a mold box I supported by a suitable framework 2. The mold box may be of any desired size or dimensions according to the specification of the block to be made, but for purposes of illustration the apparatus shown is intended to make a single block with two air cells.

Shiftably mounted above the mold box I is a hopper 3 for receiving the semi-wet concrete of which the block is to be formed. The hopper 3 is slidably mounted in guides 4 for horizontal movement so that it maybe shifted manually October 29, 1937, Serial no. 171,771

12 Claims. (01. 25-41) back and forth over the mold box I alternately to guide the concrete charge into the box, and, after the block has been completed, remove the excess concrete and trowel the upper edges of the block. It will, of course, be understood that the bottom of the hopper is open, and that a suitable plate or apron 5 is mounted between the guides 4 to retain any material remaining in the hopper 3 prior to the latter being shifted back over the mold box.

Within the mold box I there is provided ejecting or block lifting frame designated generally as 6, the same being mounted at its ends upon vertical standards I slidably guided in the opposite legs of the frame. The lower ends of the standards'are connected by a strap or crossbar In, and also, have arranged therebetween a roller 8. This roller is adapted to be engaged by the arms 9 of an ejecting lever designated generally as L, and which is pivotally mounted in the framework of the machine as indicated at' Ill. Said lever L is preferably provided near its outer end with a counterweight II for holding the arms 9 in their elevated position when the completed block is to be removed from the machine.

The charge of concrete from which' the block is made rests upon a pallet 12 which is loosely mounted on and carried by the frame 6. This pallet is preferably of triangular. cross-section with one of its sides horizontal and although it snugly fits into the mold box, and within and about the cores I3, nevertheless, there is sufficient clearance to permit motion of the core.

And, moreover, the clearance provided by the shape of the pallet prevents concrete from 'pack-, ing between itself and the side of the mold box.

The core or cores l3 are mounted centrally within the mold box and within the openings .or the pallet and ejector frame and preferably have their upper ends i4 extending to the top of the mold box while their lower 'ends l5 terminate below the bottom edge of the ejector frame 6. Each core I3 is mounted on-the enlarged supporting end lBa of a lever arm l6 carried by a supporting shaft l1 so that it may have a relatively. pivotal movement about the shaft and will be capable of oscillating or rocking motion whose greatest amplitude of movement is, of course, at the upper end ill of the core. The free end l8 of each lever arm is pivotally connected by a bifurcated lug 18a to a link l9 by the pivot bolt 20 or its equivalent. The upper end of the link I9 is formed with an opening and is mounted on an eccentric cam 2| carried by a cam shaft 22. This shaft is coon to all of the eccentrics for the core operating arms and is provided at one end with a suitable driving connection 23 in the form of a nulley, or gear as the case may be, which receives power from any suitable source, such as an electric motor M. This motor may be mounted on a bracket or shelf 26 beneath the plate-or apron underlying the hopper.

The eccentrics ti on the shaft 522 for the several arms connected with the cores preferably have an angular relationship of 1%" so that adjacent core members are rocked or oscillated in opposite directions. Thus, when power is applied to the shaft 22 it will be apparent that the eccentrics 28 will cause the links it to rise and fall and thus oscillate the arms it connected with the cores, thereby imparting to the latter a rocking movement.

In practice it is customary to rotate or drive the cam shaft 22 carrying the eccentrics 26 at relatively high speed, that is, in the neighbor= hood of 1800 revolutions per minute, thereby to impart a very rapid rocking movement to the cores. supports the core arms or levers and the pivots 2b which connect the links H Withthe eccentrics .25 such that the upper ends It of the cores have only relatively slight rocking movement, for example, in the neighborhood of Therefore, it will be apparent that the cores to are given a rapid oscillating or rocking movement.

under the power supplied from the shaft 222.

in. using the machine, the charge of semi-wet concrete is placed in the hopper 3 while it is lo catedover the mold box and the cores it are vibrating. As the material forming the charge passes into the mold box it will be tamneel or packed progressively from the pallet 52 upward.

lv, producing very dense front and rear walls in the bio in a comparatively short space or time, for e. l ole, approximately twelve seconds. The sheet or rocking or oscillating core it is to drive the air out of the charge of concrete very quickly and at the same time peel: the same laterally and downwardly toward the front and rear of the block. While the material between the cores is not compressed to the same degree as the material at the front and rear of the block, nevertheless it becomes very rapidly settled, packed, or jarred in the space between the cores due to the iact that adjacent cores are oscillating at all times in opposite directions, to provide a strong bond between the front and rear portions of the clock. It will, of course, be understood that the material forming the end walls of the block, that is, between the outer faces of each core and the ends of the mold box will also be tamped or settled by the vibrating movement of the cores l3 so that the density of the end walls of the block is comparable with that of the intermediate walls or webs formed between the cores.

When the block has been finished the hopper 3 must be moved rearwardly on the guides d to clear the mold box and trowel or smooth the upper edges of the blocls, and, at the same time v remove excess material onto the apron b. The

The leverage between the shaft it which i'nl'irily has in view a aroaaee the too of the machine. The arms 9 are limited in their outward movement by the strap 9 The weight it on the lever L- is suficient to balance the weight of the frame ti, pallet l2, and the completed block while the lever is in its forward position thereby to hold the same against the limiting strap 9 Tn connection withthe cores it, it may be pointed out. that the same are preferably bolted to the enlarged portion it or the lever arm it the sides of the mold and toward the top, and

the amplitude of movement of the rocking core not only has the efiect of packing or camping the material downwardly on each oscillation, but, because of its rapid vibration quickly distributes the charge throughout the mold box so that a strong and dense block is formed.

While the construction illustrated herein, by way of example, proposes to mount the core to rock or oscillate in producing the vibratory motion, nevertheless, it will be understood that equivalent means for producing the desired movement are within the scope of the invention. For example, the core may be slidably mounted and the shaft it may be power driven and ocean tries, equivalent to the eccentrics ti, may be mounted thereon to operate in suitable openings. th and. thus produce a rectilinear movement of small magnitude; 0n the other'hand, the core or cores may be hell}. stationary and the mold box itsehf may be shifted toward and from the cores. All of these mechanical equivalents are within the scope of the invention which primovement consisting of relatively short strokes substantially at right angles to a wall of the mold.

I claim: l. A concrete block making machine including a mold box, aplurality of cores in said box, means for pivotally supporting said cores at their lower ends, lever means extending from said last named means and below said point of pivotal sup rt for the cores, and power driven eccentric cams connected with said lever means, said cams having an angular relation of 180 to impart oscillating motion in opposite directions to the COI'CS.

means for the core including a pivot shaft, a

lever arm carried by said .mollnting means below said pivot shaft and extending laterally from the frame of the machine, power driven eccentric means connected to the free end of said arm and weighted angular lever means for operating the ejector frame.

.3. A concrete block making machine including, to

in combination, a mold box including stationary walls, stripper means adapted for vertical operation within the mold box, a pallet resting on the stripper means, a core permanently maintained in fixed relation to the bottom of the mold box and extending through the stripper means and pallet, said core also projecting below the stripper means, and means for actuating said core on its pivotal mounting to impart an angular movement said core relative to the walls of the mold box.

4. A concrete block making machine including, in combination, a mold box including stationary side walls, vertically movable stripper means normally positioned in the lower part of the mold box, a core having itsupper end substantially flush with the upper end of the mold box and having its lower end projecting through said stripper means, a mounting for the core including a fixed horizontal pivot adjacent and below the stripper means, a lever arm extending from said pivotal mounting, and means for operating said lever to impart movement to the core relative to the walls of the mold box.

i 5. A machine for making concrete blocks, in-

cluding, in combination, a frame, a mold box including stationary walls carried by the frame, a stripper mounted for vertical movement in the mold box, a rectangular core permanently positioned in and vertically disposed throughout the depth of the mold box and having walls substantially parallel with the walls of the box, a

shaft having a fixed position in the frame'on which; the core is mounted, and means for imshaft whereby the walls of the core tamp the mixture to be molded against the walls of the box throughout their vertical depth.

f '7. A machine for making concrete blocks comprising, in combination, a moldboxincludlng stationary walls assembled in box iormlation, a stripper device mounted for vertical movement in the mold box and normally disposed at the lower end of the box, a vertical core permanently positioned within the mold box, means adjacent and below the stripper device for pivotally supporting the lower end of the core, and means for imparting vibrating movement to said core through said last named means.

D 8. A concrete block making machine including in combination, a stationary mold box open at.

. top and bottom, vertical stripper ,meanmposiparting angular movement to the core about the 6. A machine for making concrete blocks comtioned normally in lower part of. mold box, a pallet placed on said stripper means, cores extending upwardly through said palletto the top of mold box. and pivotally mounted permanently within said mold box; said core mounting being permanently positioned near thatpolnt on the core which is surrounded by the pallet, lever arms attached to lower part of the cores and extend? ing laterally outwards, power driven means, means connecting said power driven means to said lever arms whereby the latter impart rapid vibratory movement to the cores,.and a hopper on top of said mold box and free to be moved so 1 as to clear said mold box and permit block to oi vertical cores mounted permanently within said mold box on horizontal bearings placed near lower ends of cores, lever arms attached to the lower ends of cores, link and eccentric means including a shaft, said means giving the cores a definite rocking motion at a definite speed, a, pallet, and vertical stripping means operating in conjunction with the pallet.

10. A concrete block making machine consisting of a stationary vertical mold box, in combination with a plurality of cores in said box, means for pivotally supporting said" cores near their lower ends, lever means extending from.

said last named means, and power driven eccentric means connecting with said lever means to impart rocking motion to the cores, and vertical stripping means in said box.

11. A concrete block making machine consisting of a stationary vertical mold box in combination with a plurality of cores surrounded at their lower ends by a pallet, said cores being so mounted that they can rock and temp or pack tionarywalls assembled in box formation, a stripper device operating within the mold box, a movable core vertically positioned within. the mold box and presenting flat side portions, means for supporting the said vertical core to permit relatlve motion between its said walls and the mold 'walls, a lever connected with the core, and means for imparting vibrating movement to said lever. 

